Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma made highly-anticipated comebacks in the first ODI against Australia in Perth, but failed with the bat as Kohli went for a duck and Rohit scored just 8. Their early exits triggered a storm of social-media memes.
On Sunday at the Optus Stadium in Perth, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to ODI action for India after months away. Despite the hype, the match turned into a disappointing outing for both. Kohli was dismissed for a duck off eight balls, getting caught at point by Cooper Connolly after edging a delivery from Mitchell Starc. Meanwhile, Rohit was out for just eight runs off 14 balls, edging one behind off Josh Hazlewood.
Expectations and reality
Both players were returning after strong breaks and big milestones. Rohit was playing his 500th international match, a major achievement. Expectations were high that they would lead from the front. But early wickets and a shaky top order left India in trouble and set the tone for social media reaction. The Guardian
Social media erupts with memes
As soon as the scores came up: 0 for Kohli and 8 for Rohit, fans flooded platforms with memes, jokes and sarcasm. Many complained they stayed up early only to see a forgettable start; others pointed to Kohli’s ‘outside off-stump’ weakness and mocked both for their returns. Here are some of the memes and reactions:
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What went wrong?
Timing and rhythm: After long breaks, both may have lacked the match-sharpness needed.
Bowling pressure: Australia’s bowlers extracted movement and bounce in the Perth conditions. Rohit’s edge and Kohli’s outside-edge dismissal highlight this.
Expectation burden: The comeback hype might have added pressure.
India still have two more ODIs in the series (in Adelaide and Sydney). Both veterans will hope to bounce back and remind everyone why they are still top names. For fans, the meme moment is over but a solid innings from either would change the tone quickly.
Fans’ disappointment after the pair failed to perform when many had expected them to is a reminder that even great players can struggle after breaks and big hype.
Australia and India’s squads
Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe(w), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
(With ANI inuts)